Can you Guess the #1 Mineral Most Americans are Likely Deficient in?

If I had to bet my life savings (well, during these tough economic times it’s worth about $53.76) on which mineral most Americans are deficient in…I would guess magnesium.

Now if you guessed, calcium, iron, zinc, copper, or chromium you may in fact be right, but I believe after working with many patients, that many common health problems are as simple as magnesium deficiency. In my article “The Nine Best Natural Medicines for Depression,” I discussed the importance of magnesium.

All doctors are always checking in to make sure that their patients have enough calcium, but they should be checking that they aren’t deficient in dietary sources of magnesium as well.
What is magnesium’s role in the body?

Taking a cal/mag supplement before bed is a great way to improve sleep, top off your minerals, and prevent those painful nighttime Charlie horses that occasionally happen. I always use calcium citrate vs calcium carbonate.

Keep in mind that too much magnesium can cause diarrhea, and that athletes and those with certain chronic health conditions may need more magnesium for muscle relaxation. Calcium and magnesium should be used at a 2:1 ratio.

Please check with your naturopathic physician before using magnesium as a therapeutic above the 400-800mg range as long term over use of magnesium may cause osteoporosis.

10 Comments

I have read books that explain that Calcium and Magnesium need to be balanced, and that the body can not even use Calcium in the bones properly without adequate magnesium. Supposed ly blood levels Will be kept stable at the expense of the tissues (because it is so important) but if the tissues have a prolonged shortage, and calcium is being supplemented without mag. to balance, all kinds of problems can occur.

This is a supposed to be a common occurence these days due to the popular recommendation to take calcium supplementations for bones, and the bodies natural design to hold on to calcium but release magnesium more easily – due to calcium used to be a more rare mineral in our diet (before dairy products were such a heavy factor) and magnesium used to be plentiful -seeds, plants etc. But now our diets are often the opposite (dairy heavy, vegi weak) so magnesium is bady needed by most.

From your post here, sound like what I’ve been reading could be on target?

I would not have guess this. What an informative article. It also explains why I feel so much better when I juice my greens in the AM and drink it first thing before anything else. It just seems to set the tone for my whole day. Thank you for sending me these pages I really enjoy them and learn something every single time.
Hugs, Robin

Hi Sonya I’ll write more in an article because magnesium isn’t the best long term choice for constipation. I generally start with 400-800mg and go up from there. Milk of Magnesia (MOM) has about 10,000mg or something really high like that, but that can be pretty extreme. Check out the fiber section because really it is all about water, stress reduction, exercise, and fiber.